1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a blade tip for a rescue tool. More particularly, the present invention relates to a forked blade tip which is coupled to a spreader-type rescue tool.
A variety of rescue tools are available for extricating accident victims from vehicles whose exits have been rendered inoperable. These rescue tools apply spreading and closing forces for opening or ripping apart inoperable doors or cutting through relatively thick metal layers. Generally, these spreading tools have a pair of arms pivotally supported at inner ends and some means for moving the outer ends of the arms toward and away from each other. Most spreader type rescue tools include a pair of metal blade tips mounted on the arms, wherein the blade tips are sufficiently strong to spread apart vehicle structural components. The opening and closing of the arms enables the tools to pull apart metal. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,862 to Ganley discloses a rescue tool having a pair of arms which are opened and closed by rotating a threaded member.
Often times, the rescue tool is provided with a power means to facilitate operation of the rescue tool. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,543 discloses a power operated portable cutting tool for rescue work, comprising a cutting head that has first and second blade members, each blade member having a cutting edge portion adjacent one end and a shank portion adjacent the other end. U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,289 to Brick discloses a hydraulic rescue tool comprising a pair of pivotally mounted arms connected to each other within a common yoke, where the arms are forced together or apart by a hydraulically operated piston.
Additionally, spreader rescue tools have been disclosed. Spreader tools generally include a pair of spreader arms, a fluid or hydraulic pressure cylinder, and a support structure or housing. The spreader arms are pivotally attached to the housing in a manner that allows them to rotate about pivot points in response to the extension of the fluid cylinder piston rod. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,311 to Rio discloses a portable hydraulically operated rescue tool with a pair of force arms.
Unfortunately, rescue tools generally have blade tips that are structured as straight-edge blade members. The straight-edge blade is disadvantageous in that it does not allow the user to exert an equal amount of pressure around the circumference of a vehicle hinge or door pin for releasing the vehicle""s door. Additionally, the blade structure of the current blade tip design cannot securely grip a metal screw of a tapered bolt.
While the existing rescue tools mentioned above maybe suitable for some general purposes, they are not as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.
An object of the present invention to provide a blade tip capable of spreading apart high strength materials.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a rescue tool having a forked blade tip to allow the user to exert uniform pressure around the door pin or latch pin of a wrecked vehicle""s door.
It is a further object of the invention to provided a rescue tool with a removable blade tip that allows the user to adapt the rescue tool for use with different situations.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out in the following portions of the specifications, wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the preferred embodiment of the invention without placing limitations thereon.
Generally, the present invention is a blade tip for spreading apart high strength materials. More particularly, the present invention is a forked blade tip which is releasably coupled to a rescue tool for extricating one or more individuals from a damaged vehicle. The rescue tool has a main body with a pair of arms movable along an axis and operatively coupled to the main body. The forked blade tip of the present invention is releasably coupled to each of the arms and each of the forked blade tips is configured to interface with an anchor point from the damaged vehicle. In its preferred embodiment, the blade tip has a front face configured to be inserted into a small crevice to grip a high strength material with a plurality of longitudinal teeth. Additionally, the blade tip has a wide footprint to interface with the anchor point such as a door pin of the damaged vehicle.